Six Month Ban on Religious Services Doesn't Violate Prisoner's Rights
Prisoners have the right to attend religious services and sometimes that right can be legitimately taken away. In this case, a prisoner was banned from religious gatherings for six months. On March 13, 2012, the Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's decision that a prisoner's rights were not violated under the First Amendment and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. The prisoner had created a disturbance in a Muslim religious meeting that required intervention by thirty officers. Banning him from religious gatherings for six months was part of his discipline.
His lawsuit alleged a number of different claims, which the district court dismissed as frivolous. While the case is a bit more complicated procedurally, essentially the Fifth Circuit agreed. Perhaps most important is that the prisoner could not bring personal claims for money against prison officials. The moral of the story appears to be that causing riots in prisons has legitimate negative consequences. To read the opinion, go to:
Because of the generality of the information on this site, it may not apply to a given place, time, or set of facts. It is not intended to be legal advice, and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations